Friendship Is The Best Medicine
by Lady Elrayen
Summary: When Legolas is wounded after an arguement, Estel remembers the first time the immortal elf risked his life for the human. Pre-FOTR, written for teitho contest 'healing'. NON-SLASH


**This is my piece for the October teitho competition named 'healing'. I finally had 30 mins or so to spare, so I've changed it quite a bit from the one I posted on the teitho website… and hopefully it is better! Congrats to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners… well, to everyone who took part!**

**DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own that gorgeous Mirkwood elf or any thing from the Lord of the Rings sobsob.**

**Apologies in advance for any mistakes or typos. I've re-edited it, so hopefully there won't be any… hopefully.**

**Hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think! : )**

**Friendship is the strongest medicine.**

Lord Elrond of Imladris was in his study, enjoying the peace and quiet of the elven haven. He closed his eyes as he listened to the singing of the birds nearby. The beautiful sounds matched the Elven Refuge.

It was only quiet now that four certain mischief-makers were out for the day. _A race of all _things, he thought. A recent orc group had been discovered by some of the patrols, and so the three elves and man had decided to aid the patrol, for the group had been rather large. When the work was done, as usual, the twins, Legolas and Estel had compared their kill count, but had this time come to disputes over who won. Continuously, for the few days after, Elrond had been bombarded with questions such as 'does this count as a kill?' or 'who do you think should have won?'.

Eventually, a race had been decided. The winners could have one of the two jewelled knives each, as well as a victory claim over the orc kill count. Elladan and Elrohir had decided to go one way, and Estel and Legolas the other, in an attempt to beat each other to the Last Bridge on the outskirts of Trollshall. A race that should take a few days.

"Over a knife." Elrond said out loud incredulously.

He opened his eyes and made to settle down into reading one of his books, when his sharp ears picked up the sound of hooves and a panicked voice was heard in the main courtyard, over the spraying of the waterfall.

"Ada! Ada!"

Elrond frowned, and cast his keen eyes to the courtyard. "Estel?" He asked. Hearing the desperation in his foster son's voice, the wise elf lord began running across the hallway, down the staircase and into the courtyard, his dark as twilight hair flowing in the breeze.

Estel was sat upon his horse with an unconscious blonde elf sat before him. Beside them, Elrond noted the Mirkwood Prince's own horse.

As he half ran closer, Elrond could take a closer look at Legolas, and saw a small pool of blood on his tunic. Blood with a purple tinge to it. Estel hurriedly dismounted his shining brown horse, and carefully brought Legolas down in his arms. The elf's body was limp, and his golden head was resting on his bloodied chest.

"We were ambushed by orcs near the bridge," Estel explained as he carried his lifelong friend to the room the prince usually occupied when visiting "We arrived at the bridge before 'Dan and 'Ro, and started talking, but before long, we started to argue." Estel gave a small sigh before continuing. "I said some hurtful things, and then I started to storm off, but then Legolas called out to me to come back, saying that orcs were near. But I thought he was joking to try and get me to come back, so I carried on walking away." Estel stopped talking as he laid Legolas on the bed.

Elrond cast a sideward glance to his foster son who was walking beside him, and saw the apparent distress in his eyes. "By the look of his blood, I would say Legolas has been poisoned with common orc poison, so the healing process should be quick once I have fed him the antidote." He said, deciding not to bring up the topic as to why and what the argument that had occurred was about. "He shall be fine ion-nin, worry not." The elf-lord said softly as he began to remove Legolas' tunic and undershirt. He cast them aside and proceeded to view the wound. "How long ago was he shot?"

"About five hours ago." Estel answered. He did not see Elrond pale slightly at hearing this. "I took the arrow out," the young man tore his gaze away from his lifelong friend, "he took it for me." He whispered.

On Legolas' stomach, a nasty, bloodied hole could be easily seen. Estel had stemmed the blood as much as he could, but there was a horrible discolouration around it all. The wound had been quite deep too.

The older elf stood up and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. He looked at the young man with a reassuring smile written on his ageless face. "He will be fine Estel. Could you please go and get me the antidote, some tea and my herb kit from my study." The young man nodded and hurried away to go and get the required things. "Ai, Estel, you are going to hate me for this." Elrond muttered to himself.

Within a few minutes, Estel was back in the room, herbs, antidote and tea all somehow balanced on his arms and in his hands. "Hannon-le." Elrond said as he took everything but the tea from him.

"What about the tea?"

"That is for you." Elrond said as he poured some of the antidote into Legolas' mouth. Although unconscious, the miracle reflex action of swallowing still remained, and so Legolas swallowed the antidote and his head sloped back to the side. From this angle, small beads of sweat could be seen forming on his brow. "He has a slight fever, though nothing worse than what he has had before." Elrond looked to the left and suppressed a smile when he saw his foster son drain the cup of its contents.

Estel looked up to see Elrond trying to hide a smile. Then understanding dawned upon him. He looked back in the cup and gave it a sniff.

"You didn't…"

"You may wish to sit down Estel." Elrond smiled, leading his son to a chair.

Estel cast him a hurt look before falling into a deep sleep.

As soon as Estel was definitely asleep, Elrond returned to checking Legolas. Yes, it was only a simple poison, but usually elves, or even men, would begin to show the positive effects of the antidote. Legolas, however, was not. Certain that no other injuries afflicted the elf, Elrond stood back and tried to figure out what could be causing the delay in the younger elf's recovery. Then the words Estel had said earlier crept back into his head, like a ghost. _We started to argue… I said some hurtful things…_ the Elf Lord looked at Legolas, and explanations began to form in his head. _Perhaps he is deeply upset by what was said, although he would know that Estel would never truly mean it… He said some hurtful things… Regarding what? Is the son of Thranduil experiencing grief, or is he feeling regret? _Elrond frowned at the last thought, and began to wish he hadn't given Estel the tea to soothe his anxiety.

He remembered that he had not given Estel a large dose of sleeping herbs, so he should be awake within an hour or so. Legolas would be nearly recovered by then. If not… then Estel would bring the Mirkwood Prince back.

OooooOOOooooO

About one hour later, Estel finally awoke, and made a dart for the unconscious elf. _He should be awake by now, the antidote works quickly…_ the young human quickly glanced at Legolas' heart. He had said some hurtful things about the elves, Legolas' home… but the elf had not shown any emotion at the words. Estel felt tears welling up in his eyes when he suddenly realised this 'curse' the elves possessed. The ability to feel emotion, more deeply than any other mortal could, whether it was happiness, hatred or… sorrow.

"Please wake up Legolas! I am sorry, I never meant the things I said, I was angry! " He allowed himself to breathe in, before turning annoyed at the elf. "You are so stupid! That's the second time you have risked your life for me! Why?"

_The rain in Imladris had finally ceased falling. For weeks, the elves of Rivendell had been trying to set up a dam to stop the river from flooding, whilst Elrond had been trying to find ways to keep a five-year-old human boy amused._

_Legolas had been visiting the Elven Refuge, and had been helping the twins and other elves with the dam, which was preventing the water from flooding onto land._

_As soon as the rain had stopped, Elrond had asked someone to relieve him of the little boy who was bursting with energy, and had decided that Legolas should be that someone._

"_Found you!" the child squealed as he hugged the blonde elf's legs. Legolas' musical laugh sounded with Estel's._

"_Indeed you have little one! You are getting too good at this, I think I may have to start hiding in the trees…"_

_The young Estel laughed harder. "You have to catch me first Leg'las!" The human child darted between the elf's legs, poked his tongue out and ran. Legolas could have easily caught up with him, but instead he caught up and then slowed down, pretending to have a stitch, just as the young boy scampered behind a rock._

_A loud, wet squelch filled the air, followed by even more giggles. The blonde elf ran round to where the squelch had come from and was met by a mud splattered Estel, whose eyes were shining with glee._

"_Look Leg'las! I'm an orc!" _

"_Oh Valar, you are filthier than an orc! You ada is going to kill me…" Though this did not seem to bother the child. "Come on then you!" The elf put his arms out to catch Estel, but the child just ducked down and ran closer to the waters edge. "Estel, not too close to the waters edge."_

_Legolas froze for a second, as the sounds of breaking timber and shouts of elves reached his ears, followed by the loud crashing of water. He looked to his right and saw a large wave of water heading rapidly towards them, consuming whatever was in its path. "Estel!" But the little boy was rooted to the spot, terror written in his eyes. Legolas jumped down the muddy bank, knowing that with every second, the wave was coming towards them. He scooped Estel up in his arms and lifted him up over the bank._

_The blonde elf's foot slipped in the mud, fearful grey eyes met blue ones, and the next second, he was being washed away. _

_The first thing Legolas did was gasp as the cold water made heavy contact with him. As he gasped, mouthfuls of water filled into his lungs, making him splutter. He tried in vain to get his head above the water, but his attempts were in vain as he was swept further under water by the strong current. All he could hear was the sound of water over the screams of Estel, and all he could see in his minds eye was Estel's fearful eyes. He started to get dizzy from the lack of oxygen, and he could feel his body screaming for air, his lungs paining him, his chest unable to move… Legolas' body slammed against a rock, and he breathed in more water. Unable to stay conscious any longer, Legolas allowed his mind to slide into unconsciousness, convinced that Estel was safe._

OooooOOOooooO

_Elrond was enjoying the quiet as he gracefully strolled around the elven haven, taking in the calming sounds of nature. But they were not so calming when he heard the sound of a crying child._

"_Ada!" Elrond frowned. Estel?_

_The little boy ran into the courtyard, paths of tears clearly visible on his muddy face._

"_Leg'las is in the river! I can't see him!" Without further ado, Elrond swept the muddy child up in his arms, and ran towards the River Bruinen, easily following the tracks._

_Estel was pointing at the large rock he had been at, and, when he saw that Legolas was not there, he began to cry even harder._

_Elrond scanned the area with his sharp eyes, and broke into a run as he followed the waters edge, trying to find the blonde elf. Further upstream, lying on his front on a gentle slope, he caught sight of the Mirkwood elf, clad in his green and brown garb, and ran faster. _

_Elrond turned Legolas over on his side and held him there for a few seconds, checking for any injuries. The younger elf did not show any signs of life._

"_Legolas, come back," Elrond called out, as he rubbed the chest of the Mirkwood elf in a bid to remove the water._

"_Leg'las! Please wake up!" Estel cried out, shaking the elf._

_Finally, Legolas began to cough. His blue eyes snapped open as he twisted to his side, one hand on the floor, and he gasped for air and coughed. He finally gave a shuddering gasp for air, and leant back. _

"_Leg'las you're alright!" Estel cried, hugging the drenched elf. "You saved my life!" The boy sobbed, his voice muffled because his face was buried into Legolas' tunic. Legolas smiled and embraced the little boy. _

"_You are special Estel, I would give my life to protect yours." _

OooooOOOooooO

Estel sat in the chair besides Legolas' bed, his head in his hands, as that memory from fifteen years ago replayed in his head. "Please mellon-nin, don't risk your life for me ever again! Just wake up, please, you don't have to forgive me, just wake up."

He did not see Legolas' eyes flutter open at the sound of his voice.

"But that is what brothers do. I would forsake my life for yours gwador-nin." Came the raspy reply. Estel's head snapped up, to see Legolas pale and smiling, his elven glow rebuilding.

Without a seconds thought, the man embraced the blonde elf. His friend, his brother.

"Ow!"

"Oops, sorry."

Elrond closed his eyes in thanks to the Valar, as he crept away from behind the door, a smile on his face as he heard the sound of laughter drifting down the halls of Imladris.

**Ion-nin – my son**

**Mellon-nin – my friend**

**Gwador-nin – my brother**

**Hope you enjoyed that! Please review… even if it is one or two words! : ) anonymous reviews are excepted! :D**

**Hannon-le**

**xx**


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